(no subject)

[ysengrin]

The monarch butterflies are wintering at Natural Bridges State Beach :)

They do every year (or at least they do now; the eucalyptus trees they like to 'nest' in are not native to California, so I don't know what they did before the trees were here). Last year dark_fang and I missed seeing them by a couple of weeks. It's pretty amazing - you walk (quietly!) down a path into a grove of eucalyptus, and find the air there filled with hundreds of monarch butterflies, with many more resting in clumps on the trees. I'm told that in another month they'll be even more butterflies. It's actually a recognized state Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary / Natural Preserve.

I apologize for the so-so image; I was around 150 feet away from the tree they were 'nesting' in. Any noise disturbs them, and the bus loads of school children out for field trips had induced the butterflies to stay well away from the trail. Plus, it was around 65F - warm enough that the monarchs were not as inclined to clump together to stay warm.

Apparently there are three other known areas around Monterey Bay where the monarchs winter - near Lighthouse Beach (about a mile south; I was there today as well), at Point Lobos and in Pacific Grove. Apparently also, Santa Cruz has a Welcome Back Monarchs Day the second Sunday in October - we missed it :)